Thomas g



(No Model.)

T. G. BENNETT.

PRIMER.

Patented Jan. 15

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THOMAS C. BENNETT, CF NINV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

PRI

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed August13, 1883.

To all III/tout it naw cart 00772 Be it known that I, THOMAS G. BENNETT, of New Haven, 1'11 the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented anew 5 Improvement in Primers; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a vertical central section; Fig. 2, a vertical central section of the anvil, auxiliary cup, fulminate. and disk detached from the principal cup; Fig. 8, a vertical cent "211 section of the auxiliary cup. fulminate, a1'1d disk detached from the anvil; Figs. i, 5, and 6, respectively, vertical central sections of the principal cup, anvil, and auxiliary cup, all enlarged for convenience of illustration.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of primers which are designed to be introduced into the cap-seat in the rear end of center-fire cartridges. This class of primers, as usually constructed, consists of a metal cup, corresponding in external diameter to the diameter of the seat in the cartridge. Into this cup varnish is introduced to coat or cover the bottom. Then upon this covered bottom a disk of moist fulminate is placed. Then over that a disk of tin-foil, paper, or other flexible material, pressed down thereon, so as to adhere to the fulminatc. Then upon this the anvil is placed. The disk of fulminate must be of substantially the diameter of the cup, and of sufficient thickness to insure the requisite quantity at the center over the anvil where the blow is to be given. As this disk. to be practically made. must be of equal thickness throughout, it follows that a very much larger amount of fulminate must be employed than is actually required for the purpose of explosion. It is well known that dry fulminate is much cheaper than wet, because less fulminate of mercury is required to produce dry fuli'ninate than moist; but in using dry fulminate over the bottom of the cup in place of wet it is liable to be unevenly distributed. and with no certainty of there being a sufficient quantity on the anvil to explode under the blow.

MER.

Patent No. 291,974, dated January 15, 1884.

(No model.)

The object of my invention is to produce a primer in which dry fulminate may be employed, and with a certainty of concentrating that dry fulminate at the center; and it consists in the usual cup, and anvil having an external diameter substantially the internal diameter of the cup, with a conical projection extending from the anvil toward the bottom of the cup, combined with an auxiliary cup of smaller diameter than the anvil, the ful minate introduced into the said auxiliary cup and the auxiliary cup placed within the principal cup and held in a central position,whereby the fulminate is concentrated in this auxili ary cup directly about the center of the anvil, as more fully hereinafter described.

The cup A, I make from sheet metal. in the usual manner and of the usual size, according to the cartridge for which it is intended; B, the anvil, also of the usual form, and having a flange, (1, around its edge turned inward, and so that when inserted into the cup the flange will produce snflicicnt friction bet ween the cup and the anvil to hold the anvil in its proper place within the cup. The anvil has a central conical proiection upon its under surface, and projecting toward the bottom of the cup, into which it is placed.

C is the auxiliary cup, which is struck from sheet metal, and preferably having its external diameter corres 'londing to the internal diameter of the flange a, and so that the anvil may set upon the cup, as seen in Fig. The bottom of this cup C is first varnished in the usual manner of varnishing the inner surface or bottom of primers, and upon this varnish dry fulminate is introduced. Then upon the dry fulmina-te a disk of paper or other suitable material, (I, is placed, as seen in Fig. 3, and pressed down upon the fulminate; but the disk (Z is not essential, as the dry fulminate will readily adhere to the varnish, and is therefore not of necessity covered. The depth of the auxiliary cup C is considerably less than that of the principal cup. The anvil B is set upon the auxiliary cup C after the priming has been placed, as before described, and as seen in Fig. 2, and should be so as to bring the center of the anvil down upon the priming in the usual relation of the anvil to the fulminate.

Through this anvil the usual apertures, e, are made for the exit of the flame. The anvil and auxiliary cup thus united are then placed in the cup A, as seen in Fig. 1. This completes the primer. By this construction it will be observed that the area of the fulminate is much less than the area of the principal cup, and that it is substantially concentric about the center, and because of such concentration and less area I am enabled to use dry fulminate, and by the use of dry fulminate there is less liability to explode in manufacturing the primer, for the reason that where moist ful urinate is used adisl; is necessarily placed over it, and this disk must be pressed hard down upon the fulminate in order to make it adhere thereto, and in such pressing explosion frequently occurs, and when such explosion tal es place it not only destroys the cup but discolors many of the surrounding cups, (it being understood that in placing the disks upon the fulminate the work is done in plates having a large number of cups in operation at the same time.) This explosion causes a serious loss in cups, which, by my invention, is avoided, for the reason, first, that the fulminate is placed in the auxiliary cup independent of the principal cup-that is, before the auxiliary cup is introduced into the principal cupand, second, for the reason that if a disk be used on top of the dry fulminatevery little pressure is required; but if under any circumstances explosion'occurs any discoloration of the cup in which the explosion occurs or the surrounding cups does not injure or effect those cups, for when subsequently introduced into the principal cup thatdiscolor'ation is hidden, and it is immaterial whether the internal cups be bright or tarnished.

The internal cups may be made from thin metal or any suitable material.

Instead of employing dry fulminate in the auxiliary cup, moist fulminate may be used, and considerable saving made over the usual construct-ion of primers, for the reason that so much less amount ot'fulminate is required that is to say, the disk for the auxiliary cup need be but about half the area of that required when introduced in the usual manner into the principal cup-and the saving of cups, as hereinbefore described, will be retained in such application.

Vfhile I preier to make the auxiliary cup to correspond to the internal diameter of the flange on the anvil, and thereby secure the anvil and auxiliary cup together by frictional contact, the anvil may be made without a flange, the conicalshapcd projection on the anvil will enter the mouth of the auxiliary cup, and bring it to a concentric position in the principal cup, and hold it in that position. In this case the internal diameter of the auxiliary cup should correspond to the diameter of that part of the conical projection which will naturally take its bearing upon the edge of that cup. I do not therefore wish to be understood as confining my invention to any particular method of securing the auxiliary cup in a substantially concentric position, the essential feature of my invention being the employment of an auxiliary cup of less diameter than the principal cup, and in which the fulminate is placed, and supported in a concentric position between the under side of the anvil and the bottom of the principal cup, whereby the fulminate or priming is concentrated about the center of the anvil.

I am aware that fulminate has been introduced in an auxiliary cup independent of the principal cup, and therefore do not broadly claim such arrangement of fulminate-cup.

1. The herein-described primer, consisting in the combination of the principal cup A, the auxiliary cup 0, of less d ameter than the principal cup and containing the fulminate, with the anvil B, of inverted conical shape, the said auxiliary cup arranged in the principal cup, with its open mouth toward the anvil, and in a concentric posit-ion between the anvil and the bottom of the principal cup, and whereby the fulminate is concentrated about the center of the anvil, substantially as described.

2. The hereindescribcd primer, consisting in the combination of the principal cup A, the auxiliary cup 0, and the fulminate in the said auxiliary cup, with the anvil B, of inverted conical shape, with a flange around its edge, said auxiliary cup arranged with its open mouth toward the anvil, the said anvil serving to hold said auxiliary cup 0 in its proper relation to the principal cup, and said auxiliary cup serving to concentrate the fulminate at the center, substantially as described.

THOMAS G. BENNETT.

Witnesses:

DANIEL H. Vnxnnn, LEE H. DANIELS. 

